


Reunited

by darkangel86



Series: Alex Manes Appreciation Week 2019 [3]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes Week 2019, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Reunions, M/M, Revelations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 05:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18732886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkangel86/pseuds/darkangel86
Summary: Alex hesitated as he stared at the door in front of him. His palms were sweating and he cursed himself for being nervous. He'd fought in wars for Gods sake. This wasn't something that should make him so nervous. And yet...And yet, here he was, stood outside the front door of the the home of the woman who had left him almost twenty years ago. Someone Alex never thought he'd see again, let alone be the one to actually track down himself. But after witnessing Michael lose his mother in such a horrific way, Alex needed to know for his own sake, why she'd left him like she had.





	Reunited

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3: Alex interacting with others he hasn't yet. (ie Max, his mom, Sheriff, etc)

Alex hesitated as he stared at the door in front of him. His palms were sweating and he cursed himself for being nervous. He'd fought in wars for Gods sake. This wasn't something that should make him so nervous. And yet...

And yet, here he was, stood outside the front door of the the home of the woman who had left him almost twenty years ago. Someone Alex never thought he'd see again, let alone be the one to actually track down himself. But after witnessing Michael lose his mother in such a horrific way, Alex needed to know for his own sake, why she'd left him like she had.

Raising his hand, Alex knocked and waited. He tried as best he could to slow his breathing because having a full blown panic attack in front of the woman that gave birth to him the first time he saw her after all this time probably wasn't the way to start things off. He wondered though, for a second, if she'd thought about him in all the time she'd been gone. It wasn't like she'd went that far. Arizona. Of all places. Alex couldn't believe it when he'd started his search for her. It had taken less than a day. Just a simple search, 'Naomi Henderson' and there she was, in Cave Creek, Arizona. That had been two week ago that Alex had found his mother and now here he stood, waiting just outside her door.

Before he could turn and flee, because he was an Airman, damn it and Alex Manes wasn't scared of anything. He'd faced literal aliens, his mother wasn't something to be afraid of, the door in front of him was opening and there she stood, the same woman he saw in his dreams, older with more gray in her hair but still, his mother and Alex felt the breath in his lungs catching. Twenty years and now suddenly here she was. He was crying before he even realized it.

“Alex?” A voice that Alex had only heard in his dreams asked and he gasped, stumbling back a step. “Sweetheart?” Again, and Alex couldn't breathe. He stumbled again, already knowing he was going down, both legs ready to give out from under him. Alex closed his eyes, ready for the hard impact of hitting the porch but it never came. Instead he found himself embraced by a set of all too familiar arms and with a gasp, Alex's eyes flew open.

“What?” Alex gasped, his trouble breathing now for an entirely different reason. 

“You didn't honestly think I was gonna let you do this alone, did you?” Michael asked, soft smile on his face as he helped Alex to steady himself back on his feet. 

“I told you I was fine,” Alex attempted to argue, even as he swayed in Michael's arms.

“Much as I can see that,” Michael said with a soft huff of laughter. “It doesn't matter. If you're my family, then so is she, so you and me, we're in this together.” And Alex felt his chest tighten at the words.

“Stupid cowboy,” Alex muttered, leaning his forehead against Michael's. “Always knowing exactly what I need to hear.”

“S'what I'm here for, darlin',” Michael replied before pulling back and looking over Alex's shoulder at the stunned look on Alex's mother's face. “But now ain't the time for us. You've got more important things to do and I'll just go back and wait in my truck-”

“No.” Alex snapped, eyes wide. “You came. You're here. Please don't- please don't leave me.” His voice shook and Michael knew he would never be able to deny his boyfriend anything, especially not when he looked and sounded like so unsteady.

“If you're sure,” Michael said, watching Alex for any sign that he might not mean what he was saying. “Then of course I'll stay.”

Bracing himself, Alex turned, his hand slipping into Michael's and holding tight, to face his mother once more. This time, with a deep breath, he felt grounded and he knew it was because of Michael. It was always because of Michael.

“Hi, mom,” Alex said for the first time in two decades.

“Alex, how are you here? I don't understand.” Naomi cried, her hands outstretched towards Alex. “He told me, he said-” Her voice broke as she let her arms curl around herself.

“Who? Who told you what?” Alex asked, taking a step closer to her, Michael right at his side.

“Uh, maybe this is something you should discuss inside,” Michael said, noticing that a couple of neighbors had come outside to see what the commotion was. “Unless you want everyone to see this long overdue reunion.” Ushering them inside, Michael closed the door behind them and followed mother and son into a nicely decorated living room.

“Who told you what, mom?” Alex asked again as he sat beside of her on a cream colored sofa.

“Jesse,” Naomi whispered and Alex felt his blood begin to boil. “He told me you died, Alex.”

“That son of a bitch.” Alex snapped, fiery eyes turning to look at Michael.

“He, he sent me a clipping from the paper back home, it had your obituary in it.” Naomi sobbed, her hands covering her mouth to stop the worst of it.

“Alex was hurt a few years ago, ma'am, pretty bad but he's alive and living in Roswell again,” Michael interjected, offering them both a hesitant smile.

“Hurt?” Naomi gasped, eyes wide with worry.

Alex hesitated for only a second before he reached down to pull up his pants leg, showing his mother the shiny chrome of his prosthetic. 

“Oh, Alex,” She cried, throwing her arms around him and hugging him for the first time since he was barely ten years old.

“Its, its okay. I'm fine.” Alex tried to reassure her, even as he wrapped his arms around her to return the hug. “I've adjusted. Some days I don't even notice it anymore.” It was a lie, of course, but his mother didn't need to know that.

“I never should have listened to him, Alexander. I'm so sorry but he, he didn't give me a choice. I knew too much. He threatened you and that was all that mattered to me, keeping you safe.” Naomi rambled and both Alex and Michael looked at her in confusion.

“I don't understand. Mom, what are you saying?” Alex asked.

“I can't say, honey. He'll know if I've said anything and he'll come after me or he'll- he'll send someone to do his dirty work and, Alex! He'll know that you've been here and he'll come after you, oh sweetheart, please, you can't be here!” Naomi began crying again and Alex felt his heart break for her. Had she lived all these years in fear of Jesse Manes? Fuck his father.

“Mom, mom, stop. Listen. I need you to listen to me. He can't, Jesse can't hurt you. He can't get to you. He's been neutralized. We took care of him. Well, Kyle did. You remember Kyle, right? Valenti? Yeah, he's uh, a doctor and Jesse managed to get on the wrong side of someone that knows what he'd doing with the right kind of drugs and. Listen to me. Jesse Manes is not our problem anymore.” Alex tried to stress to her, hoping she understood.

“Is he, is he dead?” She asked, the fear in her eyes only making Alex angrier.

“As good as.” Michael spoke up.

“Kyle Valenti, you said? Jim's boy? He, he did this, something to Jesse? Why?” Naomi asked, hesitantly, desperate but dreading the truth.

“Because Jesse Manes killed Jim Valenti.” Alex said, voice hard and cold and Naomi closed her eyes and cried once more.

“Oh, Alex, no,” Naomi said, voice barely more than a whisper. “I should have, I should've come back sooner. I could've stopped him. I could've tried harder to help them. I knew. I knew Jesse was going to do something. But he threatened you so I ran. You were my baby. What else was I supposed to do?” She cried, clutching Alex's hand. Again, both Alex and Michael were confused because what did she mean? What was Naomi talking about?

“Mom, please. What are you trying to say?” Alex asked her, desperate to understand.

“Jesse hated Jim.” Naomi hissed, eyes downcast. “And it was all my fault.”

“What? No. Jesse hated Jim because of- not because of you.” Alex said, shaking his head, confused even more now.

“Alex, sweetheart, I'm so sorry but- but Jesse Manes, was a terrible, terrible man. He did things, awful things.” Naomi said, stopping only to look up when Michael's harsh snort of laughter interrupted her.

“That's one thing, ma'am, that Alex and I know all too well.” Michael pulled his scarred hand out of his pocket and held it out for her to see.

“Did he, did Jesse do that?” Naomi asked as she looked from Michael's hand up into his eyes.

“Turns out,” Michael started, looking first to Alex then back to his mother. “That Jesse Manes wasn't a fan of finding his son with a boy and this,” He held his hand up for her to get a better look at. “Is how he choose to deal with it.”

“Only after Michael pulled dad off of me first,” Alex added, tears filling his eyes as he looked up at Michael. “You saved me that day, Guerin, don't you ever forget that.”

“Guerin?” Naomi asked, surprise and slight recognition in her voice. Alex watched as no more than a few seconds passed before he saw it click for her. “You... you're, Alex, he's...” Wide eyes stared up at Michael and Alex sighed, because of course his mother knew.

“Mom, do you know about Project Shepard?” Alex asked, trying not to laugh at the look of pure shock on both his mother's and Michael's faces at the mention of it. “His name, Guerin, you recognized it. Why? Because you saw it listed in dad's files? As what? A threat level red? Even as a child he had Michael down as an enemy. Jesus Christ.” Alex sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Then you know?” His mother asked, tentatively, eyeing Michael carefully.

“That my boyfriend is an alien? Yeah, mom, I know.” Alex smiled, reaching up to take Michael's hand. “He's not a threat to anyone, least of all me. Or you. Unless you've got a bottle of whiskey in the house, that's about the only thing he can do any damage to.” He teased.

“No, I. I'm not scared of him. I've met one before,” Naomi said and both Alex and Michael's heads jerked around to look at her in complete surprise. “I, I tried to rescue her but Jesse caught me. He, he beat me for trying to help her and that's when he made me leave. That's when he threatened you, Alex. That if I didn't go, he'd put you in one of those cells with them and I'd never see you again.” She cried and Alex gasped, not hardly believing what he was hearing.

“If Kyle hadn't already taken care of him for us, I'd be halfway there to do it myself,” Alex swore, standing and pacing. Michael watched and hesitated for only a second before he took Alex's seat beside to distraught woman. He reached up to remove his black cowboy, realizing suddenly he probably should have done that way before now, when the woman beside of him gasped loud enough that Michael flinched.

“Its not possible. She showed me once but how can it be possible?” Naomi asked, her hand covering her mouth in shock. Michael and Alex both stared at her, not sure what was happening, before she reached out to gently lay a trembling hand on Michael's cheek. “But, the curls are the same. Its so silly, isn't it? But maybe... ” She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands now. “Can you be you Mara's boy?”

Michael felt his heart shatter and all at once he couldn't breathe. Alex was at his side in an instant.

“Michael, no no. Stay with me. Listen to my voice. Its okay, you're okay,” Alex said, now holding Michael, who was gasping for breath. He turned to look at his mother. “How do you know that name? Mom! How do you know Mara?” Alex snapped and Naomi reached out in what Alex was sure was a means to help.

“She, she was the one, the one I tried to help. I met her when your father brought me in on Project Shepard.” Naomi explained. “She was nice, Alex. I could never understand why Jesse had her locked up. She wasn't hostile like some of the others, never angry. She was always sad and lonely so when Jesse would leave I would sneak down to see her. She never spoke to me directly but she could in another way. I suppose her power, or one of them, she could communicate by placing her hand against the glass, against mine. She told me about where she was from and about her son. She said his name was Rath and she once showed me an image of him. She had a head full of golden curls that would shine like he had a halo when the light hit them just right,” She said, smiling as she remembered one of the man talks they'd had about their boys.

“Alex.” Michael said, his voice trembling.

“Its okay, its okay, Michael,” Alex said, emotion overwhelming him at this point. “Mara's gone, mom. Jesse had a self destruct fail safe in place and it was triggered a few months back and, everyone in the prison is gone.”

“Oh, honey, no,” She said and for a second, Alex assumed she was speaking to him, until she moved and reached for Michael, pulling him into her arms. Alex moved back and let his mother hold Michael while both cried.

This was nothing like what he'd expected when Alex had played through the different scenarios of what seeing his mom again after all this time might be like. Maybe he'd hate her. Maybe she wouldn't want to see him. Maybe she wouldn't even realize who he was at first and Alex would have to live with the fact that his own mother had forgotten him. Alex had even wondered if maybe she'd moved on and started a new family.

A hand on his shoulder startled Alex out of his thoughts.

“You okay?” Michael asked and Alex huffed.

“I'm the one that should be asking you that,” Alex said, pushing himself up so that he could sit on the other side of Michael on the sofa. “Are you okay?”

“Turns out, my mom never forgot about me,” Michael said, smiling as a few stray tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Oh, you dumb cowboy. How could anyone ever forget you?” Alex asked as he leaned in to pressed a chaste kiss to Michael's lips.

“Alex, I- I need to tell you something.” His mom interrupted them, his voice hesitant and Alex knew nothing good could come from whatever it was she had to say. “Jesse isn't, wasn't- I don't, he's not. Jesse Manes isn't your father, Alex.” And just like that, Alex's entire world was once again flipped on its side.

“Did he know?” Michael asked and Alex could feel the tension coiling in his body. When Naomi dropped her gaze, they had her answer. “He beat the shit out of Alex, for years!” Michael exclaimed as the knick knacks on the table began to vibrate. “We thought it was because you were gay, Alex but it wasn't! Or it wasn't just that. It, it was because you weren't his so he took it out on you? If he wasn't dead already, I'd kill him myself.”

“Michael.” Alex begged, hands on Michael's to calm the shaking. “That's enough.” And Naomi watched as the vibrating in the room stopped.

“Alex, he-” Michael started and Alex could practically see the fire in his eyes.

“I don't care,” Alex breathed heavily and he realized, in that instantly, as the news settled over him, that he didn't. Jesse Manes was a monster. He'd spent Alex's entire life making him wish he'd never been born, making Alex feel like he didn't deserve to be alive more times than not when he'd been growing up, like it was his fault he was even alive in the first place and all this time, Jesse Manes wasn't his father. It was life a huge weight had been lifted off of him and Alex could breathe for the first time in thirty years. “I don't care, Michael.” 

“How-” Michael tried again but a sharp laugh from Alex stopped him.

“That monster is not my father,” Alex said, smiling and Michael froze, the full realization hitting him. “He isn't my father, Michael!” He said again, throwing himself into Michael's arms, hugging his boyfriend for dear life. “I'm not a Manes, Michael, I'm not a Manes.” Alex cried happily against Michael's neck and Michael held him as he did.

“Then who...” Michael started to ask, stopping when he realized it wasn't his place to ask. Alex turned in his arms to face his mother, his eyes red as he looked at her.

“Who is it, mom? Please. Please tell me.” Alex begged, knowing without a doubt it was about to be something he wasn't going to like hearing.

“Jim Valenti.” Naomi sobbed and Alex gasped, his eyes wide as he looked at his mother in shock. “And you, you never got to know him because I was too scared to tell you the truth. I let Jesse scare me and run me out of town and I just left you! How could I do that!”

“I did though, mom. I did get to know, Jim,” Alex said, smiling at his mom. “Jim always helped me growing up when dad, uh, Jesse got to be too much. I never knew why he was always so nice to me but I guess it makes sense now.”

“Jim was good to you?” His mom asked, his poor voice breaking when she spoke.

“Yeah. Always. He made sure I had new clothes when Jesse forgot I needed something. Invited me over for dinner more nights a week than his wife was probably pleased with. He, he took care of me when I ended up in the hospital because Jesse got drunk and violent.” Alex clenched his jaw. Jim had known. He'd had to have known. “He left me his cabin, when he passed away and I came back from over seas. He gave me my first home, mom.” He said, tears filling his eyes.

“Jim did all that?” Naomi asked and Alex smiled at her as he nodded.

“Despite all his faults, Jim Valenti was a good man.” Michael said, offering them both a tentative smile, deciding now was not the time to mention Rosa and Jim's other illegitimate child. Alex's mom had been through enough today.

“Kyle is going to love this,” Alex laughed suddenly. “Oh god.”

“What?” Michael asked, confused.

“We're brothers. Kyle's my older brother.” Alex groaned happily. “I'm always going to be the youngest, aren't I?”

“You're just meant to be the baby of the family, darlin', get used to it.” Michael teased.

“Jim's boy? He won't be upset?” Naomi asked, tentatively.

“Kyle? Oh god, no. He's my best friend, mom, beside Michael. Kyle's going to be over the moon about this. The Sheriff, shit, she's not going to be thrilled but she loves me so that might help some.” Alex hoped it helped anyway. Learning that your husband had not only had one, but two affairs that resulted in not one, but two offspring, that was a lot to take.

“Will you tell him about everything, when you get home, I mean?” Naomi asked and Alex turned to look at her, confused for a moment before he smiled.

“Mom, Kyle knows everything already. About Project Shepard and aliens. He knows what Jesse did to Jim but if you mean am I going to tell him about us being brothers? Then yes, I am most definitely going to tell him that. I'd call him now and tell him but I really want to see his face when he finds out he's got a little brother,” Alex chuckled, thinking of Rosa's face when she learned the same thing. 

“Will you, do you think you might bring him to visit next time you come? If you come back, I mean. I'm not assuming anything. Not after everything I've told you today,” Alex hated seeing is mother look as defeated as she did. He cursed the day Jesse Manes had ever come into her life.

“Mom,” Alex said, reaching out and taking her trembling hands into his own. “Listen, I can come back, any time you want me to. Or,” And Alex stopped, looking at Michael and smiling, knowing that the other man already knew what was coming by the smile on his face. “Or you can come back to Roswell with us. Jesse's gone. There's no threat there anymore. Its safe for you. You won't be alone anymore. I'm there and you can get to know Michael, he's actually pretty important to me and Kyle and all of our friends. Ifs safe now, mom.” Alex stressed, hoping against everything in him that tried to tell him she would never consider coming back to the one place that held such awful memories for her, that she would.

“But I left you-”

“And now we've got all the time in the world to work through it,” Alex said. “Come home with me. Meet my family. Unless you're happy here. I don't want to take you away from your home.” He added, because he didn't. Alex would never do that. Not if she was happy.

“Please, Alexander, I- I would love to come meet your family,” Naomi said, sniffling as she, finally, for the time time since they entered her home, smiled. 

“Let's go home, mom,” Alex smiled as he stood and held a hand out to his mom. Beside him, Michael placed his cowboy hat back on his head and offered her his own smile. 

“Home.” Naomi breathed heavily as she stood and took Alex's hand. “Let's go home.”

It wasn't going to be easy. Nothing in Roswell ever was but Alex had his mother back, Jesse Manes was as good as dead, and there was no threat hanging over top of Michael's head. Alex was, for the first time in years, happy. He could breathe without the sinking, heavy feeling of dread hanging over top of him. For the first time in his life, Alex was free.

**Author's Note:**

> Alex needs his mama right now, doesn't he? Geez. I hope we see her in season 2.


End file.
